Please Don't Do This
by Ein Kampf kann eine Lebenszeit
Summary: Jasper goes to Volterra to ask for a favor, leaving Alice in the dark. No one will let Alice know what's going on, and Jasper's not making a concrete decision. Will Jasper have to pay for his favor to be fulfilled? Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't know if I have posted this already, so let me know..**

"Jasper," I said for the hundredth time today. "I'm going to be fine. You don't need to say goodbye a hundred times." I smiled; I stopped when he didn't smile back. "Jasper, Jazzy?" I said his nickname with worry. "Jasper? Is there anything going on?" It was highly unlikely that I didn't see if there was something that was planned, but, it was possible, which frightened me.

"Nothing's wrong, Alice. I'm just worried. Whenever I'm about to go away from you for certain amounts of time I get worried, you know that," he replied. His voice seemed… distant, but I couldn't be sure.

"Just, have fun, okay?" I made him promise. He nodded and I hugged him, kissing him lightly. "Have fun out there with Carlisle. Go and bag a mountain lion or a grizzly. Just to piss them off," I smiled again and this time, he smiled back, a sweet, crooked smile. When Jasper smiled, I knew everything was going to be alright. I watched him walk out of the room, missing him already.

I looked out the window, watching the two pull out in Carlisle's Mercedes. I looked back on that afternoon…

_I was straddling him, my arms wrapped around his neck, his arms around my waist. Occasionally I would give him a soft kiss, and nothing more. These were the moments I cherished. Just sitting here, talking about nothing, and sometimes not talking at all. Today we were just staring at each other. He would be gone with Carlisle for a week. They were going hunting. I don't know why they hadn't gone with the rest of the family, but they were entitled to their reasons I suppose._

"_Jasper, you seem troubled," I commented, looking at his face. The look in his eyes was distant, he didn't seem to be there in full. Like something was distracting him. He wasn't planning anything against me, or for me. At least that's what my visions had told me._

"_I'm just thinking," he replied with a smile. My smile widened in return, and I gave him another kiss. _

"_It's times like these when I envy Edward's gift," I said absently. He chuckled in response. I resituated myself so that my back was against his chest, and his arms wrapped around my waist in a possessive manner. What would I have done without him? He was my life now. I couldn't imagine an existence without him. Yes, Edward said the same about Bella, but I loved Jasper before I saw him for the first time physically._

"_I love you, Alice," he whispered in my ear. I smiled._

"_I love you too," I replied._

"_I will always find you, no matter what," he continued to say. This confused me, but I nodded in understanding nonetheless._

I came back to the present, only to have to close my eyes and let the familiar feeling of an oncoming vision overwhelm me.

_It was crowded and bright. People talking, babies screaming, people arguing, all the noises were bellowing in my ears. A loudspeaker came on and a voice announced a departing flight to Paris, France. __An airport...__I realized. But why was I seeing an airport? A familiar face became clear in the crowd. He was still, his face pained and bothered. Jasper. _

_He looked back to the entrance of the gate, but turned back. He was standing in line, his hands in his pockets. My vision followed him outside, to the stairs leading up to a large commercial plane. He was getting on the flight just announced. He looked back once more before disappearing through the door. _

"Jasper!" I called, knowing that it was just a vision and he couldn't hear me. How could I not have seen this? This...was insane! I forced my eyes open and looked around hastily. I located the keys to my Porsche.

"Alice?" I didn't look towards the door, but I knew that it was Edward. "Alice, what's wrong?" My mind was moving faster than it ever had before. I pushed past him, running like lightning to the garage.

_Jasper..._I kept thinking. I started the engine and gunned it down the road. I can't be late...no...I can't even be one minute too late. Or else I'll never see him again. _Go faster, dammit._ I pushed the gas petal to the floor. _I can't lose him._

I saw his face looking through the crowd. I called his name, but the noise from the people surrounding us drowned me out, even for a vampire. He stayed there, looking for someone. Looking for me. I jumped up and down, waving my hands, hoping to get his attention, but he couldn't see me.

He turned around, his time had come to board the plane. "Jasper, wait!" I shouted. He turned his head slightly, as if he heard me, but shook his head. He smiled at the lady, gave her his ticket, and boarded the plane. I pushed through the people, not caring if I was exposed at this point. I got to the door, and not caring if it was shut or not, I had to call out to him.

"Jasper, it's me!" I yelled. I saw him nod his head again, and continue walking. The lady who had taken his ticket was holding me back. She might have been saying something, but I wasn't sure. I didn't care what she had to say. All I cared about was walking away from me.

"Jasper, please don't do this!" I yelled again as he rounded the corner, disappearing from my line of vision. "Please, come back to me," I said, my voice a whisper now. He wouldn't be able to look back and see me pleading for him to stay. His mind was set, he knew what he was doing, but I didn't. I wouldn't allow myself to see. How could I have been so blind earlier?

I was in his lap as he was planning this, and now he was gone.

"Please," my voice pleaded for the last time. "Don't do this."

**So as I said before, I do not know if I have posted this or not. But please review telling me if I have, and if I haven't, please review telling me what you think. I cover all ground sometimes... :D Anyway, this is Alice's point of view, and Jasper's is next. Please tell me what you think. I would love it. **


	2. Chapter 2

_Jasper_

"Jasper, I'm going to be fine. You don't need to say goodbye a hundred times," she said yet again. I had lost count as to how many times she'd said it. I didn't miss her smile though... I would miss that. "Jasper, Jazzy?" She knew. That was the only reason for the worry in her voice. "Jasper? Is there anything going on?" she asked.

So she didn't know, and that's what caused the worry and fright to roll off her body. She was ignorant of what I had planned with Carlisle. I was sure Edward knew. But I had only confided in Carlisle. He was the most level headed of us all, he was the only one who wouldn't be angered by my decision.

"Nothing's wrong, Alice. I'm just worried. Whenever I'm about to go away from you for certain amounts of time I get worried, you know that," I said, trying to soothe her. I wouldn't use my power with her, she hated it. I tried putting no emotion in my voice, but I felt like I failed.

"Just, have fun, okay?" She was worried. She must have some clue. I only nodded as she stood on her toes to kiss me.

"Have fun out there with Carlisle. Go and bag a mountain lion or a grizzly. Just to piss them off," she said, joking. She was getting harder to read every day. Serious, joking? I couldn't tell. I smiled at her, her favorite smile, and walked out the door.

Carlisle was waiting in his Mercedes. My bag was already in the back, so it did look like we were going hunting. I sat in the passenger seat. He didn't need to feel my depression to know it was there.

"Edward knows," he said, pulling out of the garage. I nodded. Of course he knew. He tried not to, but as soon as he even thought something was up, he began probing minds.

"You knew he'd find out sooner or later. He won't tell anyone though?" I asked. Carlisle shook his head.

"He understands. He's surprised Alice hasn't seen this coming. She doesn't miss a thing when it comes to you," he said. He was obviously remembering the first time we had come to the Cullen's household.

"Thank you for doing this," I said. I was almost ashamed. This would break Alice's heart, but I had to do this. I could come back for her. I promised her I would.

_She was straddling me, her arms wrapped around my neck, my arms around her waist. Occasionally she would give me a soft kiss, and nothing more. These were the moments we both cherished. Just sitting here, talking about nothing, and sometimes not talking at all. Today we were just staring at each other. I wanted to drink as much of her in as I could. She thought we would only be gone a week, it'd be much longer than that. I hope she wouldn't find that out._

"_Jasper, you seem troubled," she commented, looking at my face. I tried to look extremely content, but I could tell by her look of worry I wasn't fooling her._

"_I'm just thinking," I replied with a smile. Her beautiful smile got wider with my words, and she gave me another kiss. Oh how I would miss this. _

"_It's times like these when I envy Edward's gift," she said absently. I laughed. She had her own gift, she loved her gift, and she envied Edward's gift, which she often cursed. She never failed to amuse me. She resituated herself so that her back was against my chest, and my arms wrapped around her waist in a possessive manner. I wanted to hold on to her for forever, but I had to do this._

"_I love you, Alice," I whispered. She knew it was true. _

"_I love you too," she replied, a smile in her voice._

"_I will always find you, no matter what," I assured her. She was confused by this, but she nodded._

"Jasper, we're here," Carlisle said. I thanked him and made my way to the gate. I had pre-ordered my tickets so I wouldn't have to wait in line with the humans. Waiting was just too useless for this.

I was in line, and I heard my name. I thought Alice had come for me, but that couldn't be. She didn't know about this. I looked to the crowd anyway, hoping she would be there. I couldn't see her.

I turned back to the lady at the small counter. I handed the lady my ticket and heard my name again. I laughed and just shook my head. I smiled at her and went to the tunnel leading to the plane. They closed the door, and again I heard Alice's voice. I nodded my head, accepting the fact that I was imagining her voice.

"Jasper, please don't do this!" she yelled in my imagination again as I rounded the corner. "Please, come back to me," she said, her voice fading. Could I really lose her so easily?

"Please," she said, fading even faster. "Don't do this."

**Shorter, yes, but still... I just found these two things randomly on my computer. I clean it out every once in a while and I found this... still don't know if I have already put it up though... so let me know. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

This wasn't right. I was here, and he was, well, there. The lady had sat me next to one of the window's near the gate, surprised as to how I had gotten through security without a ticket. I didn't pay much attention to her. My sight and thoughts were trained on the plane that had just left, hoping to see him for one last time in one of the window's. As expected, he wasn't there. He had most likely ordered an isle seat in first class, or even a row to himself. Just to make the trip to… there less trying. I don't know how long I had been sitting there, but I could feel the human's looking at me, no doubt wondering about what I was looking at, or for.

It was soon after this thought that I felt familiar hands on my shoulders. They weren't the hands I wanted, but they were familiar. It was amazing how much one could tell people in my family apart by just by their touch. But his hands were replaced with larger ones. No doubt he brought Emmett. It would have attracted looks and attention if he carried me easily through the airport. I let him pick me up, not caring where they took me at this point. The fact that I hadn't seen Jasper leaving left me not caring in the least bit.

I know I was put in the Volvo with Edward, and Rosalie was already in the Porsche. I let my thoughts wonder to why he had left, and to go to Paris, of all places, Paris. What could possibly be there that would hold interest for him? I tried thinking of everything, but I just couldn't understand. Why? Why had he given me the false impression that he was just going hunting? Why did he leave without so much as a goodbye? Why –

"He loves you, you know," Edward said, looking at me. I gave him a blank look, not disbelieving, just… amazed that someone who loved someone else could do this to them. Edward, being Edward, understood, and continued. "Did he not say that he would come back for you?" he said, looking at me as if he wanted me to answer aloud.

"He did," I said. That, I hadn't forgotten. He told me he would always find me again, and that I believed. It was a truth just like the sun is going to rise in the east. He couldn't lie about that.

"Then don't worry about him too much, he knows what he's doing," Edward said, hoping to be calming or comforting in some way. It wasn't. I still didn't know _what _Jasper was doing, and from the looks of it now no one was going to tell me. I understand Carlisle not telling me, what with his honor code and all, but Edward… I could always trust Edward to tell me what was going on. What made it so different this time?

"He asked me not to tell you, more like pleaded when I talked to him about it," Edward said, averting his gaze to the road. Why was he keeping me in the dark? I couldn't even see what Jasper was planning, he kept changing his mind. I only barely got flashes of things, then they would change completely. But one thing did stay constant. He was going to Volterra, which worried me. I don't know why he wouldn't want me going with him, we usually went everywhere together.

"Alice, please. I know you trust Jasper, so why are you questioning everything now? You know the world wouldn't be able to get between the two of you, so why worry about it as much as you are?" Edward said politely. He did truly care, much more so than Emmett, or even Rose.

When we got back home – which with Edward's driving was only a matter of minutes – Carlisle and Esme seemed to be waiting. I don't know what had exactly made them worried, but something had. Esme only knew that Jasper left for some place, and Carlisle knew everything, as did Edward. Sometimes life wasn't fair. I could only imagine that this was one one-hundredth of what Bella must have felt like when we left…

Esme was the first to come up and hug me. It was a motherly hug, nothing less than I expected.

"He'll come back, dear," she said in my ear. I was honestly fine at this point, I knew he was doing something important, and this was, if possible, only making the entire situation worse. Nevertheless I smiled back at her as she released me.

"I know," I said softly. Something must have been missing in my eyes because they all dispersed themselves throughout the house, leaving me to deal with my thoughts. Edward was even courteous enough to go join Bella at their cottage, though I'm sure my situation wasn't the only reason behind that.

So, having nothing to do, I went to our room. He would come back, of this I was sure, but I just wanted to know what he was coming back from. I finally realized that I shouldn't care if he went to do things on his own, he should just trust me enough to tell me what it is he's going to be doing, and tell me when he thinks he's going to get back. That's all I wanted at that moment, so it seemed like a justified thing to ask for if he ever did this again. Shutting me out accomplished nothing except for my non-interference, and why he wanted that, I didn't know.

But I couldn't help but wonder… What if this isn't-wasn't-the first thing he kept from me? What if he has kept other things from me, things I couldn't see, therefore I would know nothing about, and Edward wouldn't say a word, respecting Jasper's privacy? Would he do that? And if he would, what would be so important as to keep from me?

No. He wouldn't do that unless whatever was happening threatened my safety and it was better if I didn't know. That was what Jasper did. He kept me safe, made sure nothing bad happened to me. Mind you, I could do that very well on my own without any help, but he was older, and more experienced in the ways of the world, so I didn't say or do anything to oppose him. It was one of his powers over me.

My thoughts were interrupted by the vibrations of my phone on the dresser. I was there before the first vibration was half way done, and I looked at the caller ID.

_Jasper._

**Not too long, but I needed it to end somewhere, else ways it would have been something like fifteen pages long, but you all shall have to wait. I haven't reread through this one, so mistakes are going to be there, I know, bad author. Anyway, please review. I got like, 7 people who have this on their alert list, and got six review, and all of them were begging me to update... I think, so I did. :) This is going to be short, but I hope you all like it. Enough of my speaking, review please?**


	4. Chapter 4

_Jasper. _

He didn't want me to know about anything, but now he was calling me? It didn't make sense. I considered not answering it, but where would that leave me? I wasn't so desperate that I would do anything to hear is voice, was I? I was mad at him, that much was certain. Yes, he did everything to keep me safe, and yes he did love me very much, but I could only handle so much. Just thinking about what had happened to Bella… what she must have gone through when we left…

"Jasper? What is it? Where are you? Why didn't you tell me anything?" I blurted out. I would not end up so depressed that my family would be scared to say anything. I wouldn't let the person who loved me do that.

"Alice," he sighed in relief. It was almost as if he hadn't expected me to answer. "I'm sorry, but this is for the best. It's still better if you didn't know what was happening, just know that I will find you again," he said. Why wouldn't he tell me anything? It was so frustrating to know that most likely everyone in the house knew about what he was doing, and I didn't.

"But I could help you. Look for possible threats, tell you if something in your plan is not going according to said plan," I said, desperate to know where he was going so I could follow him.

"Alice," he chuckled, "I know you better than that. If I told you where exactly I was going, though you probably already know, you'd follow me. I don't want you to do that," he said, hurt showing through in his voice. So he was suffering as much as me. I almost wanted to say "good," but that would be acting out of line.

"I would behave this time," I said innocently, hoping he would buy it. But no luck. I could almost hear him shake his head sadly.

"Alice, you and I both know you wouldn't. I have to go, but I will call you the next time I get the chance," he said quickly. I wondered what was rushing him.

"I love you," I said quietly.

"I love you too," he said, just as quietly, then hung up with whatever phone he was using. I closed my own and set it down on the dresser again. I looked at it, expecting it to ring again, and for it to be Jasper telling me he was coming back _now_, not when he was done with whatever it was he was doing.

But with past experiences similar to this – similar, no where near as painful – I knew he would finish what he was doing before he came back to me. But he would come back, he promised.

But he was going to Volterra. I don't know why. He had always made a point of me knowing how much he despised the Volturi, and how he would never pay them a visit of any kind. So why the sudden change of heart? Could it have been the letters Edward and he had been getting concerning the four of us? They were never addressed to myself or Bella, but rather to our significant others. The Volturi were so formal it was almost upsetting.

The letters had been coming since we had joined the Cullen's and were asking, if not begging, us to join their ranks. We used to reply with polite declining letters, but had stopped after the fifteenth year. Lately though, the letters had become more lengthy, offering more things for us, and had been concerning Bella's humanity.

To Edward they wrote reminders of his trip there, and how they would not like to finish that duty, and to me, they spoke of me holding up my end of the deal. Jasper always made his distaste of the letters known. Yes, they were polite enough, but they had underlying threats, and he didn't like that. We all knew what they were capable of, and Jasper didn't want anything happening to me.

It had been a while since the last letter, seven months, I think, and we were expecting another one sometime soon. Jasper, no matter how much he hated the letters, always kept them in our room, but never told me where. I would think it would be someplace extremely obvious, because I never had any visions of where they might be. I didn't want to look for them. He probably took them with him anyway.

So there I stood for an hour, looking down at the phone, thinking of all the possibilities that could have taken him to Volterra. They all seemed likely, but none were pleasant. It was about now that I wished for a distraction. Of any kind. And Edward, being Edward, complied with that wish.

He walked in quietly, but I saw a small white paper in his hands. The latest of our letters.

"This one is addressed to you," he said quietly, his head down. I could still see his face though. I took it with mild curiosity.

_ Mrs. Alice Cullen-Hale,_

_ We have received your latest letter of denial to join our ranks, along with your husbands, and we fully understand this decision. As usual, we would appreciate it if you were to reconsider your decision, but we would also like to discuss the topic of Isabella Swan._

We understand a date has been set for her transformation, and we would like to ask you to make sure that this happens. While we do put our trust in Dr. Carlisle Cullen to see to it that it is completed, he might show his well placed sympathy at the wrong time, leaving the act uncompleted. If you would be so kind as to reply to this letter promising your services this one time we would greatly appreciate it.

While we like leaving our friends with an option, we _will be expecting a return letter with the aforementioned promise. We will discuss any punishment required if you do not comply at a later date._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Aro Volturi  
Caius Volturi  
Marcus Volturi_

Aro didn't write it, that much was certain.

When I finished the letter, Edward remained silent. I'm sure he did not mean to read without my permission, but as soon as I read Bella's name I was sure he paid absolute attention.

"They are becoming impatient," I stated emotionlessly. I knew what I had to do, and the "punishment," as they had put it, could only be one thing. I wasn't about to let that happen. This was solely on my shoulders, and Jasper wouldn't be any part of this. That they had made sure of. Though I had my doubts they would take my oath to make sure something would get done only once. I was sure that as soon as I wrote it down and put it in the mail, I would be sworn to them for the rest of my existence. I wouldn't have to relocate, but any time they needed anything they couldn't monitor personally I would be called.

"They can't do anything if you say no," he insisted. He knew just as well as I did that if I declined this "one time only" deal I would be forced to join them in Volterra, adhere to their diet, even help them kill others of our kind when it was needed. I couldn't do that. It made Jasper someone he never wanted to speak of, I could only imagine what it would do to me, someone with such less will and spirit as he.

"Edward, you know as well as I they can," I said, looking up from the letter and into his eyes. He was hungry.

"We'll talk to Carlisle, he'll figure something out," he said, still wanting there to be some other way. That was the one thing about the Volturi. There was no other way. Once they put something into effect, there was no way around it, you had no choice but to do as they said, no questions asked. Perhaps this letter is why Jasper went to Volterra. Maybe he knew something like this was in the works, and he was just waiting for them to start playing dirty. The prolonged wait for our letters must have given him some sort of clue and he wanted to take care of it personally.

But in all honesty, how could he have known about? He didn't have Edward's power – not that it would have helped him any in this situation – and he didn't have mine. He had to have left for some other reason. If only I could know what that reason was. I was half tempted to get on a plane right now and meet him in New York and demand to know what his problem was. But he told me not to follow him. So I would honor his wish.

"Edward, nothing can be figured out," I said, my voice still low. He didn't want to hear any of this, that much I knew. "You can talk to Carlisle if you wish, but I'm going to do what I have to, no matter how much I don't want to," I said, and I hoped he would understand from my tone that that was all that was going to be said on the matter. He looked at me, more like glared, but turned to leave.

"Edward," I said suddenly. He was by my door, his hand on the handle. He didn't look back, but he was waiting for my question to be asked aloud. "Where's your letter?" I asked in a small voice, already knowing the answer.

"I didn't get one," he said coldly, then opened the door and left. I nodded my head and sat at the desk. As I had said, I only had once choice in this mess. Why not just get it over with.

_ Dear Aro,_

_ I understand that somehow you will find a way to use this to your advantage sometime in the future, but just to make sure I have some way of avoiding all that, I promise you my services for the task of Bella's transformation only._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Alice Cullen_

I typed and printed it, then put it in an envelope. It was a bit strange addressing the letter myself, and seeing it with only one name on the return address. Jasper usually did this. I sealed it with tape, and then proceeded to take it to the post office. No use sticking around to hear everyone's objections to what I was doing.

**Yeah, taking some big risks with this story, I know. Anyway, Tell me what you all think of it. I think this is what people wanted me to update the most, so no more updates unless I get a lot of reviews, because a lot of you wanted this one to be updated. Though I probably won't go through with that plan, I'm just too mushy for one really good review. And also, with the letters, I tried to indent and bubbles like that, but stupid fanfic wouldn't let me keep it that way. Sad face. ANYWAY! REVIEW! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

"Alice you should have consulted me before you did anything. We could have used my friendship with him to figure something out," Carlisle said. It was only me, him, and Edward in his study. I felt cornered. But I was old enough; I felt I could make my decisions on my own. No matter how stupid they might have been. And yes, this was probably one of the more stupid decisions I've made lately.

But none of that really mattered. The letter was now lost in the postal system, and there was no way we'd be able to find it. Now it was going to end up in Aro's hands, that smile crossing his face in his victory. I could see it now, and Caius and Marcus, though more Caius than Marcus, would stand behind him, reading over his shoulder. A smile would cross his lips as well, but Marcus would remain uninterested as always.

"I doubt any strength of companionship with Aro could have swayed his mind, Carlisle," I said harshly. I didn't mean for it to sound as such, but I knew what I was doing, and I knew there was no way around it. Not even the infamous Carlisle Cullen could sway the mind of Aro. I knew this, Edward knew this, and even Carlisle knew this. They, unlike me, just decided to ignore it.

"Alice," Edward said warningly at my tone. I shot a look at him. I was becoming mad. I couldn't remember the last time I was mad. Maybe Jasper had been helping me with that, but I was starting to get mad now. Who were they to tell me how to live out my existence? Yes, this probably wasn't the best way to go forward with it, but it was mine. They couldn't control it. Edward gave me a look of… something.

"How could you think we were trying to _control_ you, Alice?" he asked, shock in his voice. I didn't bother to answer him. Hell, I didn't even bother to look at him. I stared only at Carlisle, who had a peaceful expression on. He was obviously deep in thought.

"Alice," he said slowly, surely. "This is because Jasper is gone, isn't it?" he said, his hands resting lightly on his desk. I didn't say anything. To be truthful, I didn't want to say any of this in front of Edward. And Edward, being himself, ducked his head and left us alone, almost silently promising to not intrude any further.

Carlisle didn't say anything for a while, waiting for me to continue, no doubt. I had to think of my response. I didn't know what to say, or rather, I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. I stood with my arms crossed and bit my lower lip, a tick I had when I had to think of something.

"I just want to know why he left. I just want him to be here to help me with all this. The letter from Aro wasn't addressed to "Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen" like it usually is. And Edward didn't even receive a letter. Jasper would've known what to do, what I should have done, and he wasn't here. You would all tell me "We'll figure something out," much like you did. But Jasper would have done something other than think about it. I just – "I left off. I had never realized how much I had depended on Jasper for. I depended on him for almost everything. I needed him to make decisions, I needed him to be strong, I needed him to help me. I was lost without him, something I had never seen before now. But he and I had never been apart before. I didn't like it.

Carlisle stood up quickly and walked around his desk. He wrapped his arms around me, and it was then that I realized I was sobbing. Tearlessly, as always, but I was sobbing. I had never done this before, simply because I had no need to do so, Jasper was always there. Maybe it was to him that all my happiness was directed, and without him, I couldn't find that happiness.

"Alice, you may have made a stupid mistake, but we will find something out. This I promise you," he said. I quieted my sobs and looked up at him, nodding. He then sat me down on a chair.

For the next hour we talked about what I had said in my letter, possible loopholes to be found in it, and anything else that could go astray because of what I wrote.

"I'll let you get back to work," I said, looking at the stacks of medical forms on his desk. I had no idea what he was doing, but I had a feeling I didn't really want to know.

* * *

It had been two weeks since I had sent my letter, and longer still than I had last seen Jasper. Walking into our room was better, because his picture was everywhere. It wasn't anything like the real thing, but it would have to do. Looking at his pictures I realized I hadn't hunted since before he left, and only now could I feel the aching burn in the back of my throat. I knew I should have hunted before now, Carlisle didn't approve of us going more than two weeks without hunting. But I knew, in our house, I would be safe.

That was until I heard the heartbeat coming up our drive. I looked out my window to see who it could be, in the middle of the day, and wasn't surprised to see the mail man. The mail man usually came once a week, giving us our mail that had been collected in the past week. This was by Carlisle's request. From my window I could see ads, which I would have to look at, electric bills, water bills, and another envelope, larger than the others, of which I had only seen when colleges sent acceptance packets.

I went downstairs, Edward already there about to get the mail. He gave me a look telling me to stay back. Obviously I wasn't myself, and this he realized.

He came back, flipping quickly through the mail and handed me the large envelope. It wasn't too heavy, and didn't have a return address. It only had our address, not even a name. I looked at Edward.

_How do you know this is for me?_

"It's a hunch," he said, looking through the bills. He always took care of those, though he used Carlisle's name. I didn't question him any further, but carried the envelope to my room.

When I was settled on my bed I slid my finger under the little unsealed part and ripped the paper. There was a folder inside, but what slipped out first was a letter addressed to none other than me. This one was written in Aro's handwriting.

_Alice,_

_Thank you for your acceptance,_

_Aro_

He was never longwinded when writing letters. I set it down lightly on the bed and took out the folder. It was black with small cursive in the bottom right hand corner.

_Volterra_

Of course. Signed, sealed, and made in Volterra. Wonderful.

I opened the folder, almost fearing what was inside it. On one side there were pictures. The first one was folded down, but the paper was smaller than the other side, and looked sturdier. The writing on the other paper was Jasper's handwriting. I took to that immediately.

_Alice,_

_I know it's in your nature to worry about everyone, especially me, all the time, and right now I imagine you're driving some people crazy with that worrying. I just want to let you know that I am fine. Nothing is wrong, I just need to take care of some things here, and I'll return shortly. Thank you for not coming after me, though I'm sure that took a large toll on you._

_I love you,_

_Jasper._

It made me smile. Now I knew where he was, and I knew he was safe. I turned to the other side, again scared to look at the pictures. They were all turned facing the folder so I would have to take them out to look at them. I did it fluidly and turned them over.

The first picture was of Jasper with his hands behind his back. The caption said "Don't worry, we won't hurt him." I went to take that picture off the pile, my anxiety rate skyrocketing. Before I could look at the next picture I was overtaken by the familiar feeling of a vision.

"_Don't worry. We've done this plenty of times. It hasn't killed anyone yet," one of them said. It was Demetri._

"_Left them in a ripe state of mind though," his counterpart, it looked like Felix, said with a grin on his face. I could only see the two of them, smiling at each other. Their gazes turned down, and there was Jasper. He was on his knees, staring at the floor in front of him, his hands behind his back, much like in the picture, being held there with ropes._

_Demetri laughed, and Aro walked in the room briskly, a bounce in his step, smile on his face._

"_Is he still making his demands?" he said cheerfully._

"_That he is, boss," Felix said. I wished Aro would rip his head off for that, but Aro only chuckled._

"_It's going to take a lot for this one, isn't it?" he said, looking down at Jasper. He went to touch his face, but Jasper pulled his head away. Aro laughed. "What do you think you can hide from me?" he said, his fingers lightly connecting with Jasper's cheek. He smiled. "Keep working," he said to Demetri and then walked out of the room._

Now I truly was infuriated.

**You know the deal, review, faster updates. This time I mean it.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Carlisle!" I called out, throwing all the contents in my hand on the floor. I made my way to the closet and started packing anything my hands touched. I didn't bother making outfits, it seemed mindless at this point. All I knew was that Jasper was in trouble, and he couldn't help himself out of it. Yes, Carlisle, and most likely Edward, wouldn't approve of what I was about to do, but they would know I had no other choice. I went to my door to find Carlisle opening it. He had a peaceful look on his face, which turned to worry quickly.

"Alice, you called?" he said, a slight urgency in his voice. I nodded, taking an unneeded intake of air. I motioned to my bags.

"Jasper needs my help. I don't even know what he was doing in Volterra, but he needs me now," I said. I picked up one of my bags and as I went to pick up my second bag, Edward's hand shot out to take it first.

"I don't need quite as many bags as you," he said, looking me in the eye. I stared back at him. He didn't need to come with me. I could do this on my own, I didn't need anyone's help.

"Alice, if you go alone you won't think before you speak. The least I can do is be there to make sure you don't do anything we'll regret," he said meaningfully. I sighed and Carlisle only stood there, looking at the two of us. He had a small smile on his face.

"Good to see at least two of my adoptive children are getting along," he said before walking out. I looked at Edward. I wasn't about to risk saying anything aloud for the rest of the house to hear, so I just looked at him.

"I know, but it'll be safer this way," he said, looking at his bag. I nodded and walked down to the garage. We took his car to the air port. It was silent the entire time until he went to get our tickets. I listened to the conversation.

"Hi, my wife and I were wanting to get out of the country, so I'm asking if you have any tickets to New York," he said. I wanted to snap at him for having called me his wife, but two teenagers getting tickets out of state did seem a bit conspicuous.

After he got the tickets we went and waited the thirty minutes at the gate. Of course we had to go through security, but we passed with no troubles. The entire time I was looking for Jasper, but they had somehow blocked anything they might have been planning. I hated it.

"_Jasper, please, just one more day honey. That's all, just one more day," I whispered in his ear. He was lying on the bed and I was on top of him. His eyes were closed and I had been lightly kissing his eyelids. He refused to open his eyes._

"_I'm tired of the contacts?" he said, his tone questioning his own words. I laughed lightly. He had been wearing contacts for the past few weeks. I had to put them in every few hours and he didn't like that part._

"_Honey, open your eyes," I said lightly again. He did as I asked. His eyes were almost completely golden again. I smiled. "They're almost back," I said proudly. He tried so hard, and when things didn't go perfectly he took the blame all on himself._

"_They shou-" he started to say, but I put a finger over his lips, silencing him. I sat up and looked down at him._

"_Don't play that card again, Jazz. You know as well as I do that you're strong enough for this life. I believe in you," I said sternly. He closed his eyes again._

"_Thank you," he said, just as softly and sternly as I. I kissed his forehead and got up, going to the closet. He sighed._

"_What are you doing?" he asked. He wanted to get out of school tomorrow. I had seen his plan to keep me home, and I had to admit, it was a wonderful plan, but it wasn't going to work. _

"_I am picking out your outfit for tomorrow," I said cheerily. I heard him sigh again._

"_I suppose my plan wouldn't have worked then?" he asked casually. I popped my head out of the closet and shook it at him. I disappeared back into the closet._

"_But I give you props for it. It would have been nice," I said, looking for the navy button up shirt I had gotten him a few years ago._

"_It can still be nice, you know," he said, still from the bed. I found the shirt, but it was on the top hanger. I glared at it._

"_I know," I replied. I stared at the shirt and then he came up behind me and took the shirt down. _

"_Well tell me which plan you liked better," he asked, handing me the shirt. I smiled at him._

"Why did you insist on getting seats in first class? Carlisle always told us that we needed to only get things we ne – " Edward cut me off.

"Alice, you of all people, should not be lecturing me on the spending choices of our money," he said, putting my purse in the over head bin. I shrugged my shoulders.

The flight couldn't go fast enough. I found myself counting the seconds instead of minutes or hours. Edward had told me countlessly to stop, but I ignored him.


	7. Chapter 7

The one thing I didn't expect of this place was for it to be so green. I'm sure that somewhere in my mind I knew it would be green, but because, behind the walls and streets, I knew Jasper was being held captive and being tortured, green, in my mind, didn't exactly seem to fit.

But of course it did. We were in the country side of Italy. Of course it was going to be green. No matter what any person or thing was doing, the country side would always be green. To me, though, it just didn't fit. I didn't like it. It was cheery, and it didn't match this somber trip.

Nevertheless, Edward drove us toward the stone city, where I knew that Jasper wasn't expecting me. I was sure that he was expecting to die alone and maybe sell out his family. He wouldn't even stop to think that any of us would come to help him. I always figured it was the military man in him, but now I didn't know.

"It would help a lot more than you think if you would just stop thinking about him," Edward said, no doubt just trying to help my nerves. But I still couldn't help but think about him. That's why we were here. Because of Jasper. How on earth could I not think about him?

"It's simple, think about something else. Think that we're taking a vacation, and admire the scenery. Just think of something else. The Volturi don't take hysterical vampires seriously," he said. And that last sentence did it for me. I don't know why, but everything seemed to slow down. The passing trees and bushes were now in perfect focus, whereas before they were just green and brown blurs. The car, though still moving, seemed to stop entirely. I closed my eyes, something about everything going on not feeling right.

It was only when I came out of it that I realized I had just gone through a vision. I didn't know what it was about, and I didn't even know I was getting one. I tried to recall what had just gone through my mind, but no matter how hard I thought, or how hard I concentrated, I couldn't think of anything, not even what color shirt I was wearing.

I had had visions for as long as I could remember, and I knew when I was getting one, and I knew what had happened in them after they had finished, so why had this one been different? I tried to think of why it could have been different, but nothing could come to mind. I looked at Edward, but he was completely focused on the road. He had even slowed down, though the reason for that soon became clear. The number of roadside cops had increased and the walls of the city were fast approaching.

Nothing, it seemed, could hold my interest. And what worried me most was Edward's confused look and his lack of anything to say. He always had something to say, and when he didn't, such as now, it worried me.

"All I saw, from your vision, was blurred colors. Just green and brown," he said, upon hearing my thoughts, no doubt. I shook the thoughts of unease from my mind and continued to look at the city before us. There was hardly anyone on the streets, and the windows were all closed. It was as if the entire city had been evacuated before some war.

We made our way to the center of the city, knowing that that was where we would be most likely to find the people we were looking for.

There was a clock tower, and a fountain. It all seemed rather elegant, and I couldn't decide if it was because we were in Italy, or because this was a royal colony of vampires took their home. I thought it was the first one, but couldn't say for sure because I had never been anywhere else in Italy. Nevertheless, Edward and I got out of the car and made our way to what looked like a door. It was under the clock tower, and there were red flags hanging from the building, so we figured we had found our location.

We walked in the doors, treating it like a business which was open all seven days of the week from nine to five. When we looked up (we were looking down to make sure that, were there humans, they wouldn't see our skin in the sun) we found an empty room. Not even a vase with flowers. Just a stone room, nothing more. There was a pair of green, presumably elevator, doors to our right, and I decided to go to those. Since they were the only things that seemed to lead somewhere besides the doors we had just come through I figured that there could be no harm in trying them. Seeing where they could possibly lead to.

Once the doors were open I stepped in and saw that there were only two buttons to press on the inside panel. Up. Or down. It seemed like an ultimatum. I pushed the up buttons and Edward stepped inside.

There was horrible elevator music playing, and it seemed to make the trip longer. But that was just because I found it increasingly annoying and wanted to punch the speakers to get them to stop spewing the terrible music into the air.

The contraption came to a stop and the doors opened. Now we found ourselves in what seemed to be a waiting area, and there was a green desk with a dark skinned human sitting there. She had one of those headsets for desk phones, and she looked up from whatever she was looking at before, and smiled at us.

"How may I help you?" she asked in a sweet voice. I was scared she might think something was odd with the pigment (or lack there of) of our skin and our eyes being golden, but she just kept smiling, waiting for an answer. Edward cleared his throat.

"Yes. Is this where I can find a man by the name of Aro?" he asked. He wasn't sure how to put it, and didn't want to seem like he was looking for a specific kind of person, and I thought he did very well with being vague, but being able to get an answer. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Just down that hall. Would you like me to get someone to escort you there after their meeting is done?" she said nicely. Edward shook his head and I began to speak.

"No, I think we can handle a walk down the hall by ourselves," I said. I usually didn't act so rudely, but now my thoughts had returned to Jasper, and just what they were doing to him here. I was happy that we had found the right place so quickly, but also not happy because we were closer to finding out what exactly was happening.

She tried to stop us, but being a human, her efforts were pointless. Nevertheless, we reached the doors quickly and Edward opened, having heard of Carlisle's stories about the Volturi not responding well to cowards.

So we walked in with our heads up, and not looking at the floor. I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the room. It seemed to be made completely out of marble. There were three chairs, and some stone benches along the sides, but beyond that there was nothing. No pictures, no other furniture. It was very bare. But very beautiful.

Aro broke my thoughts.

"Alice! Edward! How very nice to meet you," he said in that cheery tone of his that made you think he wanted to kill you on the spot. Though I wondered how he knew our names. He most likely had someone akin to me, someone who had my powers and such. Nevertheless, I wanted to know where Jasper was, and why he was there, and what they were doing to him. I could no longer see anything, even though I tried, and that worried me. I couldn't even see my own future, and even Carlisle and Esme were among the black void.

He stuck his hand out, a handshake. I saw it as a normal greeting, so I took it without question. It was only then that I remembered that Aro had much the same gift as Edward, only he needed physical contact. He smiled as he saw everything I had thought in the past few moments, though I didn't know why my distress caused him so much happiness. From what Carlisle had told me, Aro was rather civil, and far nicer than his brothers.

Aro seemingly ignored everything I thought, and only looked around him. His eyes widened with his smile as he saw someone, I guessed he was looking for him.

"Ah, Demetri, would you be so kind and guide Alice to where we've been keeping her dearest Jasper. Apparently he is the whole reason for her visit. We shan't keep the two lovers separate, shall we?" he said, that sickly sweet tone back in his voice. The vampire he was talking too, hopefully, came over to me and took my elbow in his hand. He was at least as tall as Edward, if not taller. I wasn't intimidated, just curious as to why they were only taking me. Edward was Jasper's brother, so why shouldn't he come along as well?

"Aro would like to have a few words with me," Edward said, answering my silent questions. I looked at him one last time, hoping that he would join Jasper and myself when he was done.

As we were walking down the hall towards the elevator – which was slightly awkward, seeing as I didn't know this Demetri fellow and he didn't seem much for small talk – I couldn't help but recall Edward's voice and facial expression. It were as if he knew something bad was going to happen, but he was holding on to some last hope. But I knew he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me, or Jasper. We were his family, and I knew he loved us.

We were underground in a matter of minutes, and I noticed where we were immediately. I had seen and recalled this place so many times so that I could find Jasper, no matter the circumstances.

We stopped outside an ordinary door, and I was about to go in, but Demetri stepped in front of me. His arms were folded behind his back, as if he were guarding something. It hit a nerve.

"Aro wants us to wait for Edward to join us," he said monotonously. I hadn't heard this exchange of words, but accepted it nevertheless. Edward and I had stormed into this city and unconvinced these people, so it would be seen as rude to do anything in a rash manner. So I waited for Edward to be done having his words with Aro. I had no idea how long it would take.

After some time, though, Demetri seemed to have gotten fed up with watching me pace, and opened the door. I hurried inside, expecting to see Jasper, but seeing nothing. I heard the door close behind me, with Demetri flexing his fingers, looking nowhere but said limbs.

"Aro said your dearest Jasper caused trouble. And well, you know what happens when vampires cause trouble. Mind you, I didn't see how this nobody vampire had caused any trouble, but I'm a man of following orders, not questioning them," he said. I had questions, yes, but I knew he wouldn't answer them even if I did take the time to ask them. All I could do was close my eyes and hope that somehow, the reason I hadn't been able to see anything was because I had subconsciously blocked any and every vision I could have had. But I knew that was wrong when I felt hands wrap tightly around my head.

**Yeah. I killed them. I needed to do some character death sometime, and I know this seems like a curve ball, but it really isn't. To me. Anyway, leave some reviews, good or bad. **


	8. Read Will Be Deleted Soon

**Due to the small amount of reviews I've gotten saying it sucked, there'll be an epilogue. I just lost interest in the story and needed to finish it. School has me running around in circles with stupid people, I'm getting ready for college, I'm starting a whole new stage in my life, and I just don't have the energy and motivation to finish some stories. If you write your own stories, you know how it is. That's how it became with this story. So I'm terribly sorry about it all, my life is just becoming too hectic, and I hope you can understand that and not say that my writing sucked because it wasn't the ending you wanted. So stay tuned for an epilogue.**


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